The Real Reason Nobody Came to Your Event
The real reason nobody came to your event is because nobody knew it was going on. Sure, you posted the flyer a few times and asked a couple of your girls to come support, but that's not enough. You must be strategic about marketing your events to the right people at the right place at the right time. Below are 5 ways to market your next event.
5 Ways to Market Your Next Event
Facebook Posts:
1 in 6 adults have a Facebook account, which means you need to market on Facebook. Marketing on Facebook can mean posting to your personal page and/or business page. If you have a business page, then you should boost the invite post to fans who like your page. I boost to fans who like my page and their friends because these people have already show interests in my brand (liker) or have possibly heard of my brand through their friend (liker's friend).
Either way, these people are more likely get pay to come to your event because they "know" you. People support people not businesses. If you remember that you will go far. Use Facebook to share your event flyer and to create an event page if your target market is there.
Sharing is caring.
I shared this flyer and tasked my Facebook friends to share as well.
I've stayed away from creating Facebook Events for my brunches because the guest list is too broad and RSVP's do not amount to anything. I've found that Facebook events are useful for events with large guest list because you can add the address to the event page which makes that info easily accessible to guests on the day of your event. Facebook also sends out daily event reminders, which makes Facebook the goat for events.
Facebook Live:
Live video is where it's at. I don't want to hear about your fear of the camera. I've been there and conquered that. Honestly, Facebook Live is the quickest and easiest way to spread the word about anything. I suggest going live at least twice leading up to your event. For example, I went live twice prior to the Summer Brunch and once during the actual event. The first time I shared why guests should attend and the second time I urged my friends to purchase tickets before they sold out.
I use Facebook Live to market my events because it's raw. Again, people support people not businesses. Let your followers see the process behind your event and I can almost guarantee you'll receive more support. Oh yeah, don't forget to tell your friends and family to share your video. You never know who could be watching.
Tweets:
Twitter is my thing and has been since college. Use Twitter to post flyers with links to purchase tickets for your event hourly for 2 weeks to gain traction. My only issue with Twitter is that most of my followers are outside of Kansas City where my brunches take place, so it has not been a lucrative place for me to share ticket sale links. I prefer Facebook, but that is because I know my audience.
Where is your audience?
Where do they purchase? For most people, social purchases are made from Facebook or Twitter because of their linking capabilities.
Consistency
Post your event link 5 to 10 times per day
Email List:
If you're a business owner, you need an email list. Send event invites out to your entire email list. I send a general invite to my Jasmine Diane subscribers along with weekly reminders to those who have previously purchased brunch tickets. I want to make sure I snag repeat customers and gift them with an early bird price for each event. Incentives drive customers to loyalty. If you want someone to buy into your brand you should give them something in return. Use your email list to your advantage.
Email Reminder
I sent out 4 emails reminding previous guests and subscribers to purchase tickets.
Hand Written Notes:
Personalized messages go a long way. I suggest hand written invites for events with a premium price tag so you aren't using your entire budget for marketing. You can personalize mail invites as postcards, handwritten notes or by sending small gifts. It just depends on how much you are willing to spend.
Bonus: Ask Everyone to Share Your Flyer on Social
I'm sick and tired of business owners complaining that their friends and family do not support them. My response is this: Teach people how to support you, then ask them to repeat this behavior. I text my friends and family flyers ever so often to share and provide them with the copy to go with.
Take it a step further and email your family links to your events. My grandmother, mother and great aunt bought tickets to my spring brunch to support me and ended up having a great time. Their presence at my brunch was special to me, so I get wanting that support. The easiest way to gain support is to ask.
Nobody will ever know about your event if you don't market it correctly. I could go on and on for hours about marketing. Sign up for my email list here to receive a free marketing checklist.
Questions
What questions do you have about marketing your next event?
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